CLEMSON, S.C. - After
seven innings of scoreless baseball, in which W&M senior RHP Brett Koehler
was outstanding, Clemson managed to plate two runs in the bottom half of the
eighth before W&M's ninth inning rally fell short in a 2-0 setback on
Friday afternoon of the 2013 season opener at Doug Kingsmore Stadium. The Tigers open the year 1-0, while the Green
and Gold fell to 0-1.
Koehler (0-1) finished an impressive afternoon with three
strikeouts and no walks as the Glen Gardner, N.J., native allowed just six hits
in eight innings of work. As the contest
entered the eighth inning, only two Tiger batters had registered hits off the
senior hurler. In 1.1 innings of relief
work, Clemson's Clay Bates (1-0) picked up the win.
At the plate, sophomore third baseman Michael Katz led the
Green and Gold with a 3-for-4 performance, all singles, while junior second baseman
Ryan Lindemuth tallied two hits in three at bats. Freshman designated hitter Charley Gould
connected on his first collegiate hit in the fifth inning as the Lake Forrest,
Ill., native led the frame off with a single down the right field line.
In the top half of the first, W&M put a runner in
scoring position, as Lindemuth advanced to second after a Katz single through
the left side. However, the Tigers
escaped the frame as Clemson starter Daniel Gossett retired the next batter.
Once again, the Tribe got the go ahead run in scoring
position after Katz led off the top of the seventh with a single to right
field. Junior William Shaw moved the Falls
Church, Va., native into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt to Gossett. With Katz on second, senior shortstop Ryan
Williams followed Shaw with a base-on-balls.
After a Clemson pitching change with two outs, the Tigers left the
inning without surrendering a run as reliever Joseph Moorefield retired his
only batter faced.
The contest was still scoreless as play entered the bottom
half of the eighth inning. After the
Green and Gold recorded the first two outs of the frame, Clemson's Steve Wilkerson
laid down bunt single just to the left of Koehler. The very next batter, Shane Kennedy, plated
Wilkerson with a home run to left field as the Tigers went ahead 2-0.
The Tribe made things more than interesting in the top of
the ninth. Lindemuth led the frame off
with a single to right field and advanced to second on Katz's infield single. With no outs and runners on first and second,
Shaw moved both runners up a base base with another sacrifice bunt. Now with runners on second and third, W&M
was poised to strike but Clemson retired the next two batters as it preserved
the win.
The series continues tomorrow from Doug Kingsmore Stadium
with the first pitch slated for 2 p.m.
Fans can follow the action online at TribeAthletics.com with live
stats. Additionally, fans can watch the
action, free of charge, courtesy of clemsontigers.com.
